November 9, 2000  Volatile
November weather patterns spawned high winds, record rainfall,
tornadoes and deadly flash floods in north and central Texas,
but most Texans are not complaining after a summer of searing
temperatures and the state's worst drought since NOAA's
National Weather Service began keeping records more than
a hundred years ago.

By
November 8, the month's rainfall total was almost four inches
above the norm for that date and the total rainfall for the year
(30.29 inches) actually exceeded the normal year-to-date rainfall
(30.28). November also saw a new record for rainfall in a 24-hour
period at the official measuring site at the Dallas/Fort
Worth Airport. A total of 2.14 inches was recorded Sunday,
November 5, breaking the previous 24-hour record of 1.59 inches
set in 1957.

The
heavy rainfall was the result of a slow moving east-west front
over Texas interacting with abundant tropical moisture from the
Pacific and Gulf of Mexico.

While
the November rainfall has provided welcome relief for north Texas,
it does not mean the drought is over.

"We
have to remember that the devastating effects of this drought
are not just the result of one dry summerbut of several
years of high temperatures and low rainfall," said Bill
Proenza, director of the National
Weather Service for the southern United States. "The
good news is that our outlook calls for a warmer, wetter winter
throughout the southern region. If we continue to see above normal
precipitation for the rest of the year and normal precipitation
in the spring, we'll be on the road to recovery. But we have
a long way to go."

After
years of below-average precipitation, area reservoirs are finally
getting much needed replenishment, but their levels are still
well below the norm. Reservoirs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area
are currently averaging 1.5 to 14.5 feet below their normal levels.
Reservoirs in south central Texas are faring only slightly better
with averages of 1.5 to seven feet below normal.

The
welcome relief from the long, hot summer has not come without
a price tag. Severe storms and flooding across Texas have claimed
six lives, injured many others, caused extensive property damage
and delayed or canceled numerous flights.

National
Weather Service forecast offices in Texas issued 25 tornado
warnings, 76 severe thunderstorm warnings, 223 flash flood warnings
and hundreds of weather statements, watches and advisories from
November first through the eighth.

The
current state forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with some
sunny breaks and warmer temperatures through the weekend. Daytime
highs should be mostly in the 50's and 60's across the state
and morning lows from around 40 to the upper 40's near the coast.
There are a few weekend showers expected over the central portion
of the state but more likely in the east.